Even when wearing flannels, Gil Langley seemed to have stepped straight from a council dustcart, but he missed little behind the stumps after Don Tallon's withdrawal from Australia's 1949-50 tour of South Africa gave him a first overseas trip. Langley's rumpled kit, shambling gait and razor-edged appeal endeared him to team-mates, while his nine catches in the 1956 Lord's Test stood as an Australian record for almost 44 years. He actually began his first-class career as a batsman, and picked up some useful tailend runs in Tests, including a half-century at Bridgetown in April 1955. An outstanding Australian Rules footballer who represented his state, he was the Labour MP for Unley in South Australia's parliament for 20 years.
Gideon Haigh